Various lighting systems using LED technology are known today for reducing power supply consumption with respect to conventional lighting systems which use incandescent, discharge or fluorescent lamps.
The generic architecture of a method for manufacturing a lighting system using LED technology is organized into common parts: There is an electronic base plate or PCB where the LEDs and other electronic components required by the LEDs for power supply and control are coupled. The electronic base plate is assembled in a plastic or aluminum housing that acts as a support and aids in sealing and protecting the electronic base plate, the LEDs and the rest of the elements inside the luminaire. A transparent or translucent closure is then used for protecting and covering the LEDs in the area where they emit light while at the same time allowing the light emitted by the LEDs to exit the product producing the desired lighting effect.
A thorough study of lighting systems using LED technology allows determining that a significant amount of light emitted by the LEDs is diffusely reflected on the components closest to said LEDs, see for example the surface of the electronic base plate, the housing for the lighting system, or even the translucent closure protecting the LEDs from external agents, etc.
Diffuse reflection on the mentioned components causes them to absorb part of the light emitted by the LEDs, and therefore the light emitted from the system is not 100% the light emitted by the LEDs, rather in a typical application the light transmittance is 70%.
Likewise methods which allows increasing light transmittance in lighting systems with LED technology, which are normally made by means of including auxiliary parts that are white in color or metal plated with a high level of reflectance placed on the PCB are known, these methods result in the inclusion of additional parts which occupy space and have a high assembly cost and price.
Other known methods consist of encapsulating the LEDs and all the internal components adjacent thereto with a white colored material encompassing the mentioned internal components without covering the LEDs or blocking the area where they emit light, in this case, these methods have the main drawback of requiring a large amount of material having a high acquisition cost, they further include the drawback that once the LEDs and the internal components are encapsulated, the viewing of the preceding elements and the access thereto for possible repair in the event of failure or breakdown are prevented, in addition to preventing the inclusion of new components such as secondary optics in successive steps of the manufacturing process primarily due to the lack of free surfaces in the lighting system.